US-RUn-msg216Guide to the Bonoff Family Papers
1899-2007Finding aid prepared by David Sherman.University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections and Archives2010 April 2015 Lippitt RoadKingston, RI 02881-2011Tel: 401-874-4632email: archives@etal.uri.eduWebsite: http://www.uri.edu/library/special_collections/Finding aid encoded by David Sherman, edited by Hailie Posey
2010 April 20EnglishFinding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)EnglishSpecial Collections and University Archives 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.eduBonoff familyBonoff Family Papers1899-2007123 linear feet118 box(es) The collection consists of the records of the Bonoff family. The Bonoffs operated home demonstration shows and ran several theatres in Phoenix, AZ, and in New England from the 1940s to the late 1990s. The majority of the records deal with the operation of the Warwick Musical Theatre in Warwick, R.I.Mss. Gr. 216
Historical note

The Bonoff Family Papers document the work of several generations of a family of theater owners, producers, and promoters, spanning the entire twentieth century. The bulk of the collection deals with the operation of the Warwick Musical Theatre (WMT), in Warwick, R.I., founded in 1955 by Burton "Buster" Bonoff.

The Bonoff family had been involved in show business for many years prior to Buster opening the WMT. Charlie Bonoff, Buster's grandfather, opened the Saybrook Theater in Old Saybrook, CT in 1938. Later, Charlie's son Leo Bonoff and his wife Sally (Goldberg) opened another movie theater, the Bonoff Theater, in Madison, CT. The Bonoff Theater, now owned and operated by Hoyts Theatres, is known as the Madison Art Cinema. The Old Saybrook Theater was closed in 2001.

Buster Bonoff grew up working in his parents' movie theater, but ended up forging a career in live theater. In the early 1950s, Buster began working with Ben Segal of the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT, one of the early tent theaters that began appearing around that time offering musicals and other theater productions. After a year at the Oakdale Theater, Buster decided to open his own tent theater and found a location on Route 2 in Warwick. He began attracting investors and formed a board of directors for the new theater. Saul Friedman helped Buster with this aspect of the business. Friedman continued on the Board, serving as Chairman until the closing of the theater 1999.

In 1947, Buster Bonoff married Barbara Wasserman, whose family also had a background in show business. Her father, Samuel Wasserman, had worked in the production end of touring theater during the vaudeville period. He married Rose Berman, his star chorine. The Great Depression and the increasing popularity of movies in the 1930s curtailed the demand for touring theater companies. The entrepanurial Wasserman began working the trade and home demonstration show circuit.

In 1955 the Warwick Musical Tent opened for its first season (the theater was an actual tent until a permanent 3,300 seat structure salvaged from the 1964 World’s Fair replaced it in 1967). The Tent (and later the Phoenix Star Theatre, which Buster opened in 1964 in Phoenix, Arizona), was a theater-in-the-round, with a circular stage and seating that allowed the audience a 360-degree view of the production. As part of the Northeast tent circuit, the Warwick Musical Theatre, the Oakdale, and the Carousel Theatre in Framingham, MA were closely allied, functioning as sister theaters although under separate ownership. Touring casts and crews, mainly performing Broadway shows, and generally serving as star vehicles for performers worked these circuits for ten weeks, spending a week at each theater in the circuit. Programs printed during the first years Warwick Musical Theatre operated sometimes listed the all three theaters for a single production.

The Warwick Musical Theatre's productions changed over time with the demands of the business. From its beginning through the early-1960s the WMT primarily presented Broadway shows in touring productions. In the 1970s Broadway productions fell out of style, and star bookings became the standard format for the Northeast tent circuit. By the 1980s bookings increasingly reflected the growing popular taste of adult ticket buyers for the rock, pop and country bands heard on mainstream FM radio. Most major rock and pop acts performed in large stadiums, however, and the Warwick Musical Theatre wasn't able to compete with the larger venues. Additionally, nearby casinos began to present free shows with many of the same acts which the theater previously booked. In 1999, the family and the board of directors decided to close the theater.

Buster and Barbara Bonoff operated the Theatre for most of its history, until their son, Larry, and daughter, Betsy, took over for their parents in 1975. However, Buster and Barbara remained central figures in the identity and operation of the theater. Neither Barbara nor Buster lived much beyond the theater's closing. In May 1999, Buster Bonoff was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame for his contributions to the cultual heritage of Rhode Island. Buster Bonoff died in 2000 and Barbara in August 2003.

In June 2002, the theater was demolished. Both the Bonoff's children continued working in the theater business. Betsy Menders continued doing production work at the Providence Performing Arts Center, and Larry continued promoting and presenting shows at various locations. Larry Bonoff created the Bonoff Foundation in 2006 to collect, preserve, and display the records of the Warwick Musical Theatre and the history of the Bonoff family for generations to come.

Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.

Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.

Preferred Citation

Bonoff Family Papers, Mss. Gr. 216, University of Rhode Island.

Scope and Content Note

The Bonoff Family Papers document the history of several generations of the Bonoff and Wasserman families, owners and operators of theaters and movie houses. Some of the materials deal with Samuel and Rose Wasserman, parents of Barbara Bonoff. The records represent the Wasserman's involvement in movie houses and the production of trade and home demonstration shows, as well as Samuel Wasserman's activities with the Hejaz Grotto masonic organization.

The bulk of the material in the collection relates to the creation, operation, and promotion of the Warwick Musical Theatre. While largely business related, the papers also include personal information on family members, particularly Burton Bonoff's time in the military, and Samuel Wasserman's promotion of trade and home demonstration shows. The variety of materials reflects the wide range of activities and interests of the family members. The collection includes business records, promotional materials and memorabilia from the theaters and home shows as well as promotional material from artists who performed at the venues. Types of records in the collection include family and celebrity photographs, correspondence, scrapbooks, and published material and media.

The series contains playbills and programs for performances at several theatres owned and operated by the Bonoff family and other theatres, as well as programs for home demonstration shows and other events organized by Sam Wasserman. Some of the programs and playbills are signed by stars of the productions. The bulk of the programs and playbills are for productions at the Warwick Musical Theatre.

The series also contains seasonal schedules of productions at the Warwick Musical Theatre, Phoenix Star Theatre, and several other venues.

See also the Scrapbooks series for other playbills included in several scrapbooks for the Warwick Musical Theatre and Phoenix Star Theatre.

The Show Files series contains the records of the booking, scheduling, promotion, and ticket sales of performances at the Warwick Musical Theatre. A few items in the series are from the Oakdale Musical Theatre. Subjects covered in the series include artist contracts, insurance information, promotion of events in print and broadcast media, payment of performers, and box office information.

The Artist files series consists of promotional material, mainly photographs and biographical information supplied by artist's management and production companies, used for the promotion of shows at local venues. The bulk of the records relate to shows at the Warwick Musical Theatre, and there are also several files relating to shows at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Where materials are known to relate to specific shows, the performance date is noted in the folder title.

The series consists of material relating both the personal and professional activities of the Bonoff family, including subjects such as family members' education and military service, Burton Bonoff's induction into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, general Rhode Island entertainment guides, Samuel Wasserman's activities in the Hejaz Grotto and several theatre-related unions, and general Warwick Musical Theatre history, among other subjects.

This series contains family photographs of the Bonoff and Wasserman families, as well as photographs of theatres and home shows run by the two families. Many of the photographs relating to the theatres consist of press shots of performers, shots of performances, and pictures of performers posing with members of the Bonoff family. Many of the artist photographs are signed.

The series also contains a number of photograph albums.

The series is arranged in two subseries: Subject photographs and Photo albums. Subject photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject. Photograph albums are arranged after the subject photographs. Some photographs were stored in frames with small plaques listing the people in the photographs. The photographs were removed from the frames, and the labeled frames are stored at the end of the collection alphabetically by the last name of the performer.

The series consists of news clippings and articles relating to the Bonoff family and the theatres they operated, home shows run by Sam Wasserman, celebrities that performed at the theatres, Hejaz Grotto activities, and various related subjects.

Many of the clippings were received in folders already arranged by subject, and were largely maintained in the original order in which they were received. Folders in the series are arranged chronologically.

The series consists of memorabilia from the operation of the Bonoff family theatres, Burton Bonoff's military career and education, various performers and tours, Samuel Wasserman's trade and home shows, and various items from artists who performed at the Bonoff's theatres. Also included in the series are t-shirts, jackets, and baseball caps for various artists, theatres, and local businesses, several hats from Sam Wasserman in his activities with the Hejaz Grotto masonic organization, a cowboy hat with attached pins owned by Larry Bonoff, and a quilt.

The series is arranged in three subseries: Memorabilia, Shirts and Jackets, and Hats. The realia and memorabilia are arranged in no particular order. The shirts and jackets, and the hats are are numbered, and arranged alphabetically by performer, show, or subject within each subseries.

The series consists of news clippings, advertisements, playbills, photographs, and ephemera collected in scrapbooks. The scrapbooks are organized by subject, and relate to the Warwick Musical Theatre, Phoenix Star Theatre, Hejaz Grotto events, and early 20th century theater productions.

The glue on many of the scrapbooks has become brittle, and many of the items in the scrapbooks are separating from the pages. The paper in some of the older scrapbooks is embrittled, and edges of the pages are falling apart.

Scrapbooks are arranged by venue or subject and chronologically there under. The scapbooks are housed and numbered chronologically or by size within the box.

The series consists of posters, both mounted and unmounted, for performances at the various Bonoff family theaters, a poster for the Springfield Home Show organized by Samuel Wasserman, and framed pictures and articles. Posters are for performances at the Warwick Musical Theatre unless otherwise noted.

The posters are arranged in no particular order. Two oversized posters are unboxed and stored at the end of the collection.

This series consists of various types of business records from the operation of the Warwick Musical Theatre. Subjects covered include Gold/VIP membership information, Press and publicity materials, financial materials (including ledgers, journals, cash disbursements, etc.), employee sign-in sheets, and other materials dealing with the seasonal and day-to-day operation of the Theatre.

The Media series consists of recordings of artists who performed at Bonoff family theatres, events related to the theaters, interviews with Burton and Larry Bonoff, and recordings of local news coverage of the Warwick Musical Theatre. In the series, there are thirty-seven LPs (one signed by Jerry Vale), sixteen 45 rpm singles (one autographed by Paul T. Morris), ninety-two compact discs, one hundred and seventy-nine cassette tapes, sixty-six VHS tapes, six reels of 16mm film, and a single microcassette.

This series contains original manuscripts from off Broadway shows featuring director's notes, actor/actress notes, and stage and lighting notes. The dates range from the late 1940s to early 1960s, though much of the material is undated. All of these documents were the property of John DeSantis, Vice President of Walt Disney Productions.

The materials are arranged alphabetically by the name of the production. The dates listed represent the date of the work's premiere. The short content notes that accompany each item explain the type of object and provide information about the original authors of the work.

1n/aundatedAlice in Wonderland

Script copy with annotated notes on stage directions, props, lighting and sound effects. Includes list of cast and addresses.

Director's copy with annotations for technical cues, lights, stage directions, entrances and exits, choreographical notes, costume, prop and set lists, stage diagrams, photograph of a scene from the original show.